What's too old for a stroller?

[DisneyMomFanatic]

I have to say that when we go back to the world in August, we plan to rent a double stroller from the parks for our children. Now, our son is 11 but he is only 55 lbs. He is also Autistic Spectrum and if he walks, he could easily get lost by not paying attention to where we are going. He will sit in the stroller and do a math workbook while we go from attraction to attraction. Our daughter, who is now 7, will just sit with her brother. The stroller keeps them safe and since they are both so lightweight, it is still easy to push. With so many other people in the parks, I would rather have them safe than worry about either of them getting separated. That's just us and if it works for you, go for it. It's your vacation too, make it work for you!

 

[RMulieri]

I posted earlier that I make my daughter walk (since 4 yrs old), but no she does not suffer and I don't think I am being mean or unreasonable.The fact is she walks all the time at home, has since about 3 yrs old.She hikes with us and does all the local themeparks on foot and is very very active at home.I was not about to push a stroller at disney.She knew going into the trip that the expectation was she had to walk.Disney IS lots of walking, but there is also alot of sitting on rides,shows and parades.I don 't judge parents that put their children in strollers,I could care less ,and I find it insulting that people presume I am some mean, horrible ,ogre of a Mom because *gasp* I made my 4 yr old walk all of disney. She not once cried, whined or threw a tantrum.It works for us, and may not for you.Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Too old is when you no longer feel like pushing them in the stroller. There is no magical age. Sure some kids can walk WDW at 4 but there are many who can't. You have to take into account that not everyone lives in a place where it is so hot. If you are not used to the heat it can do a number on you no matter how old you are. OP- if you think your kid needs a stroller then bring one. Who cares what anyone thinks?

 

[Elmo888]

For me, any age is too old for a stroller. I'd rather carry a two year old on my hip or shoulders than navigate around with a stroller.

And anybody four or older can walk.

But that's just me.

See, this is a great point, too. I would consider your needs (the parents' needs) in addition to the child's.

OP - Why do you think that your child might need a stroller?

If you can tolerate carrying a tired child, that might sway your decision.
If you can tolerate pushing and taking care of a stroller, that might sway your decision.
If you can tolerate the whining and crying or can see it coming from a mile away and run interference (with a break on a bench, Mickey ice cream bar, a nap at the resort, etc.), that might sway your decision.
If you can tolerate or avoid the sibling fights about the stroller (setting expectations helps), that might sway your decision.
If you can tolerate manning two strollers (at airports, on buses, in the resort room), that might sway your decision.

If you decide to go strollerless for the 7 yo, I would do two things:
a) Set expectations with the 7 year old and make it crystal clear that she is not going to use a stroller at WDW.
b) Start walking for exercise. Now. Everyday. With both kids. Start with 15 minutes and work up to an hour. Everyone will be better off. I did this before our first trip with DD who was 6 at the time, and she was in better walking shape than DH. Her stamina was great.

Just do what works for you!

 

[Kelrykengab]

Wow. It always amazes me what is a heated topic on here.
Anyway, as in anything else in life, if you are not negatively impacting anyone else than do what works for your family.
Last time we went we had 2 children ages 6 and 3 and we brought an umbrella stroller for my 3 year old. We arrived on a Saturday and although we did go back to the resort every day for swimming and rest, we were pretty much go go go day and night. On Wednesday we noticed my 6 year old walking slower and asked him if he might like a stroller. When he said yes I was surpised b/c he hadn't used one in 3 years and is a very energetic child, but the heat and walking understandably made him tired. So, that night and whenever he seemed to benefit from one we just rented one at the parks. No biggie. To be honest, I never even gave it a second thought. We were on vacation to have the time of our lives and if that little thing helped, excellent. This time, we will bring one for our 1 year old and if we need to rent one for the 5 and 8 year old to share so be it. Life is short, be happy and who cares what others think of a stroller of all things.

 

[disneyjunkie]

My DD's will be 5 1/2 and 7 when we go for 2 weeks in the fall. My 7 year old is already asking if we're going to bring 2 strollers like we did last year...is 7 too old for a stroller? We would need to gate check both at the airport, but the benefit would be the "non battles" between the sisters about whose turn it is to ride. ahhh!

I think 7 is too old for a stroller.

This is a heated topic, but I really think past the age of 4 most children should be able to walk the parks. Now before everyone jumps on me about hidden disabilities and whatnot, I mean children who do not have any type of developmental, physical or neurological delay or diagnosis.

My kids, who, by the way, are not particularly active at home, all managed to walk the parks from the age of five on. Even in the summer heat. Were they tired at the end of the night? Yes, and so was I. Did their feet hurt sometimes? Yes, and so did mine. Did they whine about waiting fro the bus? Yes, and so did I. Were they grumpy when I woke them up to get off the bus and walk to the hotel room? YES!

I know a lot of folks have expressed the sentiment that it is easier to push their kids in a stroller then have them whine and complain and ruin the families trip, but that is not the way things work here. Here adults make the decisions, and are not, generally, manipulated by children.

WHY do people have to make the stroller issue into a character judgement? It certainly is no reflection on anyone's ability to parent, or on who makes the decisions in the family! That's ridiculous, and insulting.

I cannot imagine WHY anyone would be happy listening to their children complain and be grumpy at the end of the day. That's when I am tired and grumpy too, and simply want to minimize my discomfort. At MY house, the adults make the decisions and are not manipulated by the children. It was MY decision to take the stroller when DD was 6, and I was the happiest mom in the sore, tired, cranky bunch because I wasn't being annoyed by a cranky kid on the way out of the park! Sorry, but I don't see why you need to make using a stroller a character judgement. There's no gold medal being awarded for making your kids tough it out, and I don't think it builds character to make kids "suffer" if it's not necessary. I think you are crazy to want to listen to cranky kids, and quite frankly feel sorry for the kids. I figure one of my jobs as a mom is to make things easier on my kids than it is for me. It's no skin off my nose to push a stroller around a theme park. We didn't use it a whole lot, but it was great to have a place to hang my backpack and stash my packages, to lean on when I was walking and tired, and for DD to take a break now and then. I miss the stroller, now that DD is almost 17!

The OP asked a question and people are answering it. If you want to use a stroller, go for it.

NO ONE on here said anything about being better because they made their kids walk...I dont MAKE my dd4 walk, she CHOOSES to...she does not want to be confined in a stroller when she can walk and keep up fine.I dont give a flip that someone is pushing their 6 yr old in a stroller at wdw because I am to busy with my family but I still think kids that old can walk, if a child that age can not walk for a few hours without getting tired and grumpy I would think that is a bigger issue.My healthy 4 yr old is just fine without a stroller and does not get grumpy or cry...by the way kids cry for other reasons then being over tired from bad parents that didnt bring a stroller,maybe they did not getbthat toy they wanted or feel at bump their knee ect ect ect...
NO ONE told you not to take a stroller...and NO ONE is trying to make that choice for you...you are being DRAMATIC.

 

[roscoepc1]

We rented one for two different days for our 6 yr old. One day for exhaustion (after she made it to 1 am on EMH!), and one day after someone tromped on her foot in the CBR pool and scraped skin off the bottom of her foot!

Imho, it was money very well spent! No grumping, whining OR complaining from dh! He has low tolerance for kids acting their ages when they're tired or hurt! (on his side, he was never around kids as a kid himself, and his parents were bizarrely, border-line abusively strict with him....)

 

[roscoepc1]

Too old is when you no longer feel like pushing them in the stroller. There is no magical age. Sure some kids can walk WDW at 4 but there are many who can't. You have to take into account that not everyone lives in a place where it is so hot. If you are not used to the heat it can do a number on you no matter how old you are. OP- if you think your kid needs a stroller then bring one. Who cares what anyone thinks?

Amen on the heat thing! It is actually a form of asthma to have trouble breathing in humidity...and being from Canada, Flordia heat alone can wipe me out!

 

[luvmy3]

Your kids are too old when they would be embarassed to be seen in one. I realize some would disgaree and say thats too bad because of the way they would be whining and carryong on that they are tired, but there is no way I would damage my child's self-esteem by making them sit in a stroller if they didn't want to. If they got tired, they could sit down and rest just like older kids and grown ups do. Its really a personal decision and there isn't a set age for all families, so if your 7 year old feels its too babyish then for you 7 is too old.

 

[PolyndianPrincessJes]

As a pretty neutral person on this topic, I will say some of the anti-over-4-in-strollers posts did come across as a little strolier-than-thou (I crack myself up). Like I mentioned earlier, we brought one stroller for DS4, but it wasn't an issue when DNiece7 wanted to hop in for a bit. However, I probably wouldn't bring one just for her. We had two in strollers (DS4 and DCousin3), so it would have been annoying to tote three strollers around the World.

And, just to put this in perspective...I once saw a crowd pic on the DIS, and there was a woman pushing a grown man (holding a toddler) in a stroller. Very amusing.

 

[kinntj]

We had our 4 and 6 year olds in a double stroller on our last trip. It was so nice to have on hot days and at night when they were sleepy. We did also do breaks mid day at the resort, but they still get tired after awhile.

The kids were happy and we were happy, so all was good.

 

[eeyoremommy]

I used to be one of those parents that rolled my eyes at kids in strollers that appeared to be "too old". I still do it when I see 10 year olds, but I will say that last year at MNSSHP and MVMCP as well as our spring break and in May, my then DS5 learned the value of a stroller. That would be the same stroller he never, ever uses, and hadn't used in years (except for WDW). If it saves DH and myself or another parent the breaking back of lugging a heavy child around a park or fighting with one, strollers get my vote I am also lucky in that his legs are a little long, but he is small for his age. Taking smaller children to the parks can be tough. Parents know what their kids can handle, and they need to make decisions that are the best for their family. If other people don't like it, tough. Just please don't run over me with the stroller (Oh, wait. I bet that's another thread.).

 

[Liltx]

Up to each family - for us 5 is too old because we're old and I figure heck you guys walk and when you're tired we'll all go back to the hotel for a rest. If you can keep going but they can't and you want to keep going then I'd get one.

My feelings exactly. They are too old when you are no longer willing to push it. For my kids that is at age 5, well a few weeks before that for my youngest. If they are too tried to walk we would just leave. But actually that has never happened to us. We are usually done beofre they are. They have even done 12 hour days at 4 and 6 years old.

But if you want to keep going and you don't mind pushing then go for it!

Monica

 

[Liltx]

Oh, I will say that I have thought about renting a double just for the Spectromagic parade at the MK for my 5 and 7 year old. More as a seat for my kiddos to hold their place. People will just crush little ones and I will be by myself so it will be hard to prevent.

 

[cheshireqt]

IMHO 7 is too old for a stroller. I think it was at about 4yrs of age we stopped using strollers. However, for our 2006 Disney trip I read about the walking being an issue. I put myself, and my then 6yr old and 9yr old "in training." We walked between 2 & 4 miles every day for the 4 months leading up to our trip. (I had 2 dif. routes plotted out). They loved it at first, grumped some after the first week and then it was just routine by the third week. We talked about lots of things on those walks and I wish we had kept it up after Disney! If the youngest had had trouble keeping up after all that "training" I might have considered it, but we did not do a hurried pace at Disney either so maybe not?! Will never know now!

 

[badblackpug]

Okay, let me re-phrase myself. I see a lot of people on the Dis give reasons for using strollers with bigger kids that I think are more about the parents and less about the children. Some of these being: "I like having a place to store my stuff." Which, to me means they bring a lot of "stuff" that they don't want to carry. I really don't think that if you have potty trained kids you need that much "stuff." "I like the drink holders" Really? You can't carry your drink? Maybe because you have too much "stuff" "They don't walk fast enough." Mostly we do WDW at the kids pace, maybe that's why the walking really doesn't bother them. "I don't want to hear the whining/crying/tantrums." "The whining/crying/tantrums will ruin everyone else's trip." This is the excuse I really dislike. I honestly believe that if you do not tolerate this behavior at home, you shouldn't tolerate it in WDW.

I, personally, have no tolerance for temper tantrums. (and, again, I will qualify this by saying I am not talking about children with developmental, physical, or neurological disabilities) I really don't care why you ("you" meaning one of my kids) are acting out, I want you to know that it is not appropriate, and will not be tolerated, will not get you your way, and will get you punished. If your kids are that exhausted that they are flipping out, maybe it's time to take a break or call it a day. Whining gets you ignored. My auditory nerve does not register whining. (...and I have a whiner)

Finally, I don't care if you (again, general "you") choose to push your child in a stroller until their 21st birthday. You are the one that has push said stroller. Literally and figuratively, it's on your back.

OP, I do believe that 5 and 7 are too old for a stroller. I think with decent planning and a reasonable pace they can make it without a problem. Mostly my kids are so excited to be at WDW that they don't even realize they are tired until we leave the park. (unfortunately I realize it muuuch sooner!)